STL DPB ON THE ROAD - PARTY WITH THE CROWES

 

When my extended family gets together there is enough wine on hand to serve an emperor's banquet (and only the good stuff, please). My brother brought this from his town in Massachusetts. Although it lacks an E, it was refreshing but failed to get me on my feet.                      

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - FAMILY TRADITION

Every Fourth of July my sister and brother-in-law in New Jersey throw a massive backyard barbecue party - cheeseburgers, hot dogs, steak, chicken, cold macaroni salad, green salad, fresh Jersey corn, watermelon...it seems  endless. An indispensable element is her Fourth of July flag cake. Yum yum yum.

 Home later today.                   

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - JERSEY WILDLIFE

 

We are in Ridgewood, New Jersey, with a crowd of family, from baby to octogenarian, hiding inside from the heat. My sister-in-law noticed two fawns outside the window. Mom was off wandering somewhere, but these two were remarkably calm.                                                

The Fourth In Ridgewood

My family moved from Queens to Ridgewood, New Jersey, the day before my senior year of high school began. I was going to a Catholic boys prep school in the Bronx and commuted into the city to finish. A year later I decamped for St. Louis University.

My mother died seven years later but my father lived in Ridgewood into his 80s. My younger sister stayed in the town. My father's birthday was July 7 (he would have been 104 Tuesday) and all four of us would come out for the Fourth of July and grandpa's birthday. He's been gone for 20 years but the four siblings still get together at my sister's house almost every 4th. We're pretty tight.

Ridgewood has the biggest fireworks in the county. We always go. I'm happy with these shots that were taken on my little Olympus EM5 Mark II.

Below, one of my sweet nieces bottle feeding a puppy, followed by the village  emblem on a sign in the railroad station.                        

Fourth of July Impressions

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Oh. what a day. This is an assortment ot Fourth of July images from Ridgewood, New Jersey: fireworks; old family friend Lee with my my brother, John, the family's French connection, the traditional skirt steak sandwiches fresh off the grill; the traditional cake and photos from the parade.

Into NYC tomorrow. Hot and humid. It's worth it.

The Fourth of July, Plus Bonus Video

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The Fourth of July in Ridgewood, New Jersey. I lived here for about a year when my family moved from NYC to the burbs. My younger sister has lived here most of her life. The town has a big parade and fireworks show. There's always a big cook-out at my sister's home. All their old friends come by. In the video below, Lee and Bobby demonstrate how to prepare skirt steak.

Home tonight, but I think I'll do NY pix for a bit.

STL DPB On The Road: We Are Family

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Thursday is the 100th anniversary of my father's birth. The family moved from New York City (Sunnyside, Queens) to the suburbs in New Jersey as I was starting my senior year of high school. The older of my two sisters and I commuted back into the city to the schools we had attended, then went off to St. Louis. (She went to Washington University.)

As the four siblings grew up, we always returned to Ridgewood for the Fourth of July holiday and dad's birthday. My younger sister and her husband stayed there and built a large house. Even though my father died 16 years ago, we continue to get together at Sue's almost every Christmas and July 4. We like each other. Dad started a holiday dining tradition of steak and lobster. It's still going on.

Above, niece Cate and newly announced fiance Grant share a smooch with some encouragement from my brother, John. The couple are both entering the MBA program at the University of Chicago in September.

Below: - my sister Sue's daughters, Kelly and Lauren, with a difference in attitude. Lauren will return for her junior year at Virginia Tech in a few weeks and Kelly will enter as a freshman.

- lobster duty with brother-in-law Mel, chairman of the psych department at Penn State, with Grant and brother-in-law Rob, who has a large commercial real estate business.

- niece Stephanie with her parents, my brother, John, newly appointed director of North American operations for the French conglomerate St. Gobain, and his wife Pam, a neurosurgery OR nurse.

- Stephanie with Sue's dog Chi Chi.

- a taste of what's to come.

Oh, and happy birthday, America. I'll be shooting Ridgewood's traditional Fourth of July parade today and the town's huge fireworks show tonight.

STL DPB On The Road: A Last Picture From New Jersey

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We are back in St. Louis as this post goes up Monday morning, but this is literally the final image as we left my sister's house in New Jersey. What monsters lie there? The family keeps a wreath on their front door year-round. This summer a robin built a nest in the center. Mom went off looking for food while this little peeper, two or three days old, waited for chow. A couple of siblings were in the back of the nest, all of them with their beaks resting on the edge.

The Fourth

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The whole family went to the big fireworks last night here in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Pretty damn good show and I got some cool shots if I do say so myself. These photos are in a set from Flickr. More will be added soon as I get them edited.

Home to St. Louis tonight.

The Fourth of July in Ridgewood, New Jersey

According to my esteemed brother-in-law, Melvin Mark, Ph.D., Chairman, Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, the caption for this picture should be:

When you're serving Corona to friends, don't be shellfish.

He suggested that I offer the photo to Corona for one million dollars, plus another million for the slogan. Seems reasonable to me. I get a commission on his part 'cause I put it on the Web.

My (other) sister and brother-in-law have a family tradition of extravagant Independence Day parties. The photo is but a sample.

TOMORROW: What happened to Ming the Merciless and Strangetastes when they took on NYC with cameras for weapons?

All images and text © Saintlouismodailyphoto and Melvin Mark, Ph.D. All use or reproduction prohibited without the express permission of the aforesaid. And I mean it. I'm a lawyer.